Florence Nightingale

Profession: Nurse

Nationality:

Biography: Florence Nightingale was an English nurse known for her activities during the Crimean War, for which she earned the nickname "The Lady with the Lamp" after her late-night rounds to care for wounded soldiers. She was also a pioneer in statistics, inventing the Nightingale rose diagram—a predecessor to the modern pie chart.

Nightingale was responsible for modernizing nursing and setting high standards for sanitation, which ultimately saved countless lives. She managed a team of nurses and significantly improved the conditions at a British base hospital, where her meticulous data collection led to more efficient hospital designs and reformed healthcare policies.

Post-war, Nightingale established a nursing school at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, creating a new professional path for women and transforming nursing into a reputable occupation. She was also a proficient writer, and her book Notes on Nursing has been a seminal text for nursing education.

Despite suffering from a debilitating illness from 1857 onwardsn that restricted her to her home, she continued to work on healthcare reform and hospital planning. It was not until her finale decade that a growing blindness brought her writing to a trickle.

Born: May 12, 1820
Birthplace: Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Star Sign: Taurus

Died: August 13, 1910 (aged 90)
Cause of Death: Peacefully, in her sleep